Jerry.....
Let's suppose you had made a long back cast, then as soon as you had done this you saw a fish much closer than your original intended target. He's moving, so you have to act, NOW.
One way to immediately shorten your stroke would be to creep forward opposite the direction of your still unrolling loop and present to this new target.
To avoid a colliding tail, you have to do several things:
1. Change the trajectory of your forward stroke from the prior intended one.
2. Slightly change rod planes.
3. Use less force on your forward cast......and make it smooth.
4. Depending upon the difference in distances, you might have to make a gentle haul with your line hand as your loop unrolls on the presentation cast.......ie., a, "check haul" in order to have a straight enough layout with leader turnover.
Even if you do everything that way, you will still get a tailing loop if the difference in the two distances is great enough, but the combination of lack of spike of power during the presentation stroke combined with the slight change in rod plane will usually prevent a collision, so you are not likely to get a wind knot. (This is one way to make a purposeful tailing loop to flip a fly under a mangrove overhang without a wind knot.....what Jason Borger termed, "definately a Maloney".)
Gordy
From: jerry puckett <jerry_puckett2001@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Gordon Hill <hillshead@xxxxxxx>
Subject: creep
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:53:02 -0800 (PST)
Sir Gordon, I have been racking my brain and cannot come up with intentional uses of creep during casting. In your view are there any? Jerry